Professional Documents
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Selfless Extraordinaire
Grace Howrigon
SELFLESS 2
I had composed several drafts of an introduction prior to this, detailed with the world’s
great, historic leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi.
Somehow, however, I ended up here on one of my oldest playlists with one most familiar and
influential voice: Alanis Morissette. In the following quote from “Offer,” track 5 on her album
Feast on Scraps (2002), this self-established singer, songwriter, actress and feminist, reminds us
Who am I to be blue?
The relevancy of this quote is rooted in the vulnerability of human nature. Leaders are so
often glorified, and rightfully, but there is more to appreciate than their golden feats. Alanis
wrote “Often” under a grey sky. She wrote an honest sketch of her inclination to feel poor
despite her many blessings, paired with her undeniable obligation to engage those blessings,
inspire and lead. Grey skies test leaders: Morissette, Mandela, and me alike. Leadership is a
challenge unsuitable for the shallow and the lazy. It can only be known by a unique soul, one
who practices patience and selflessness under great pressure, one bold enough to ask, “Who am I
to be blue?”
My senior year of college, I had a bad practice with a noticeably poor attitude. After
practice, my coach, Coach Sue brought the team into the locker room and sat us down. She asked
the team to raise their hand if they were disappointed in me and the entire room raised their hand.
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It was humiliating. She lectured me in front of everyone on how I am the point guard and we
move how I move; they needed and expected more out of me. Leadership draws eyes and
Although only human and imperfect, a leader, even on her off days, must be genuine and
authentic. She must live by the values to which she holds her team accountable. She must
encourage those around her to find and use their voice. She must notice other acts of leadership
and acknowledge them, let them know they have been seen and heard. She must celebrate the
achievements of those around her while maintaining a balance between praise and constructive
criticism. In his model, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, author and leader John Maxwell
refers to an old saying, “To lead yourself, use your head; to lead others, use your heart”
(Maxwell, p. 10). A true leader will express her passion in a way that engages the people around
The concept of leadership is very broad, and more of an art than a science. “The personal
styles of superb leaders vary: Some leaders are subdued and analytical; others shout their
manifestos from the mountaintops” (Harvard Business Law). There is no right definition. There
is no certain quality that trumps all others. While brains and degrees often get one the position, it
is the intangibles that allows one to sustain. Throughout my years, I have come to understand
some of the qualities that leave people feeling most inclined and most confident in their
acceptance of another’s leadership. The most genuine of these qualities is passion. Without belief
in the leader who is paving the way, how does one find appreciation for the path? In a Forbes
article titled “Passionate Leaders Aren’t Loud - They’re Deep,” author Erika Anderson explains
genuine passion as “honestly committing to something about which you feel deeply, and staying
committed through difficult circumstances.” She then deems five characteristics indicative of a
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leader’s true passion: honest commitment, a clear (not dogmatic) case, the use of real and
When it’s real genuine passion, those around can feel it and they feed off of it. I think
everyone can relate to this in some way or another. We have all had that coach, boss, coworker,
whoever it may be. The coach who makes us feel small, the boss who doesn’t support our
vision, the coworker who would rather be anywhere else but present. We can also relate to the
opposite; the coach who makes us feel invincible, the boss who encourages our imagination and
initiative, the co-worker who competes and challenges us to do better. It’s finding the balance.
It’s learning who to follow and learn from, then learning how to be the leader yourself and do it
well. It’s like Dr. Lee told us in Drumline, “In order to lead, you must first learn to follow”
Leadership has remained, and will remain a work in progress. It is not something I
excelled at overnight, nor would I have come to understand it without examples of both good and
bad leadership in those before me. Coming into college, I thought I had a firm grasp on
leadership. Sure I experienced one’s average trials and tribulations in high school, but it wasn’t
until college that I met adversity face to face. I had my pride, my game, and my attitude
challenged. Collegiate athletics allows for a bigger stage with wider talent; nothing is handed and
everything must be earned. My progress from freshman to senior year of college was drastic. At
the end of my senior year, I received my coaches’ leadership award. I had finally learned to play
The next step for me is to be a Graduate Assistant on the women’s basketball team at
Siena Heights University. In taking on that role, my goal is to allow the combination of who I
have become these past twenty three years to shine through. From my education, my workplace
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experience, the numerous teams I have been a part of, from being a daughter, to an aunt, to a
friend, to a lover; take it all. Understand who I am while I lead you. Join me. I’ll give you my
References
Drumline [Motion picture]. (2002). United States: 20th Century Fox Film Corporation.
Anderson, E. (n.d.). (2012, June 11.). Passionate Leaders Aren't Loud - They're Deep. Retrieved
from http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2012/06/11/passionate-leaders-arent-
loud-theyre-deep/
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Goleman, D. (2004). Harvard Business Law. What Makes a Leader? Retrieved from
https://hbr.org/2004/01/what-makes-a-leader
Maxwell, J. C. (2007). The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (10th Anniversary ed.). Nashville:
Thomas Nelson.